It’s ironic in many ways that the 26th anniversary of the 1996 Baltimore Ravens inaugural draft came and went eight days before the 2022 NFL draft took place. I was reminded of what it meant to stick to the rankings of the big draft board and take the highest ranked player instead of succumbing to the temptation of filling an immediate need with a lesser player.
The story of the 1996 draft, the one that put the Ravens on the map with back-to-back Hall of Fame selections (Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis), is widely known. However, it’s worth repeating.